Crossed Paths
by wizardwheezes
Summary: Mohinder finds himself rather involved with a girl, who just so happens to be a new Hero. The prequel to my Coming Home one-shot.
1. Path 1, Mohinder

**Crossed Paths  
**by wizardwheezes

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**Path 1: Mohinder**

The List. It contained information on all those who had contributed their information to the Human Genome Project, information on all those with "special abilities," many of which lived right in Metropolitan New York, the current location of geneticist Dr. Mohinder Suresh.

He had been trying to track these unique individuals. It wasn't every day he found someone who could fly or travel through time and space...or saw a head off and take brains without even getting their hands dirty. He wanted to help them, make sure they understood what was going on so they didn't hurt someone around them or even themselves, as sometimes the case may be. His most recent days had been spent in his apartment making phone calls to various people to make sure they were safe, that they had not been hurt by the serial killer known as Sylar, and wondered if they wanted to discuss what was happening to them. Many of the calls had been met with angry replies and mad-sounding remarks, but one of them had been different. He had been grateful when one young woman had seemed very interested at the concept of discovering what was happening to her and why, so he had made an appointment to meet with her today.

Mohinder sat down in front of his laptop and scrolled down the list of names brightening the screen.

"Ivie Gesenetti," he read. "What could you possibly have in store for me?"

He shut off the computer, closed it, and slid it into the leather bag that was a constant at his side. He grabbed his jacket off a chair and pulled it onto his body, then wrapped one of his many brightly-colored scarves around his neck and stepped out of his apartment.

Mohinder checked the time on his watch as he walked down the hall and entered the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor. He figured he had enough time to run one quick errand before getting to his appointment.

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Disclaimer: I don't own _Heroes_, but I do own Ivie.  
Author's Note: This is the first section of how Ivie and Mohinder meet. The whole thing is probably going to be a trilogy of trilogies. This is the first part, where they meet, the next will be how they interact, and the last how they get closer... I guess this is a sort of prequel to my _Coming Home_ one-shot. The chapters are a little short, but some books have one-page chapters and are considered brilliant literature, so I'm guessing a fragmented story should be just fine.


	2. Path 2, Ivie

**Crossing Paths  
**by wizardwheezes

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**Path 2: Ivie**

Bookstores had always been a staple in Ivie Gesenetti's life. No matter where she was on the globe, there was always a bookstore closeby. These places were like second homes to her, being a writer for a local newspaper (she wrote serialized stories that would be given to the readers bit by bit) and an avid reader to boot, it was just something natural for her to hang around there. The one around the corner from her apartment was her favorite, though. It was owned by her good friend Roxy Brown, a sweet, young English woman who always had something intelligent to say and never seemed to frown, even if the day had been terrible. Ivie still needed to take her daily walk to the store, but hadn't been able to yet, as she had been preparing for a guest.

A few days before, she had picked up the phone to hear a heavily cultured voice telling her that her name was on some list and if he could please come speak with her. Ivie was a pretty good judge of people, even over the phone, so she told him that she would be willing to speak with him.

"Dr. Mohinder Suresh," she read off the post-it she had stuck to her refrigerator to remind herself. "Hm, sounds interesting."

She finished cleaning the apartment and decided she still had time to do her bookstore run. After all, it was just around the corner, and she could get back home quite quickly, if need be.

Ivie's loose brown hair trailed out behind her as a chilly wind blew at her face. She didn't mind, though. The cold didn't bother her as much as the summer heat, and she had become accustomed to the New York weather over the years. Her flowing peasant skirt billowed as another breeze blew, and her scarf flapped as she rounded the corner.

A small bell jingled as Ivie pushed the door to the bookstore open. She looked around for a moment until she heard a voice call out.

"Ivie!" It was Roxy, whose warm greeting contrasted with the chilly wind outside.

"Afternoon, Roxy!" Ivie said enthusiastically as she leaned over the counter to hug her friend.

"I feel like we haven't had a proper conversation in ages!" Roxy told her as they broke apart. "Come to my place tomorrow. We'll have tea, alright?"

Ivie smiled. "Sounds wonderful, Roxy, I'll be there."

Roxy grinned and leaned in. "Plus, I want to tell you all about this gorgeous guy I've started seeing," she whispered.

Ivie raised her eyebrows. "New man?" she asked. "Well, tell me more!"

Roxy giggled mischeviously. "Ah, ah, ah. You'll just have to wait until tea."

"Come on, Roxy!" Ivie begged.

"No, tea tomorrow!" she replied.

"Ooh, Roxy," she said in mock frustration, "you're evil! Making a friend wait on big news like that!" Roxy only winked at her and went off to help a customer.

Ah, well, Ivie would just have to wait to find out who this great guy of Roxy's was. She thought about it as she walked through the shop, weaving in and out of the vast mazes of shelves filled with pages upon pages of words marching across the pure fields of white. She made her rounds in the store before settling herself in the science section. Her brown eyes scanned the titles and authors of various tomes, and she wondered if there would be anything to help her. In recent days, she had discovered she could do things that a normal person wouldn't -- _shouldn't_ be able to do.

Her gaze settled on a book with a blue cover. She traced her finger over the spine as she mouthed the words, "Activating Evolution." It sounded promising.

"Hm, Chandra Suresh..." she thought as she read the name of the book's author. "I wonder if there's any relation."

She had become so oblivious to her surroundings, as she had become immersed in the store, and did not seem to notice that another figure had entered the same aisle, nor did she notice that the person had walked up close to her and was staring at the same title. It was not until she reached out her hand to take the book off the shelf did she notice as a dark hand reaching for the same book brushed her fingers, both going for the book.

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Disclaimer: I don't own _Heroes_, but I do own Ivie.  
Author's Note: I actually started writing this a while ago, but it's just being posted now.


	3. Path 3, Convergence

**Coming Home  
**by wizardwheezes

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**Path 3: Convergence**

Ivie had been so immersed in her own little world, she hadn't thought twice about anyone else in the store, and therefore never noticed the figure walk up to her and reach for the same book until his fingers brushed hers. When she felt his hand on her own, she gasped and pulled her hand back in fright.

Mohinder's fingers recoiled as well, and he heard Ivie's sharp intake of breath. "Oh!" he said. "I'm so sorry!" He turned to face the young woman he had disturbed and blinked. For a split second, it looked as though no one had been standing there at all, but... "It had to be a trick of the light," Mohinder thought. He blinked again and the girl was standing in front of him.

"Did he notice?" Ivie worried. She had vanished for only a few moments, but still, was it obvious? It was strange, something that had happened to her since she was a child, and it was always activated when she was frightened or scared. She had tried to control it but didn't know how. She had been hoping that maybe the book would do her some good in that category.

"I'm sorry," Mohinder said again. "I didn't realize you were reaching for the same book."

"No, it's fine," Ivie replied, smiling as she got a better look at this man who had approached her. She couldn't help but notice the deep, chocolate brown eyes and his perfect crown of curls. "I was spacing out and wasn't paying attention, my fault."

There was a pause, then Mohinder told her, "You can take the book if you'd like. I'm sure you need it more than I do."

"Oh, thanks," Ivie responded and stretched on her toes to reach the text on the shelf.

Mohinder watched the young woman as she reached, her body stretched to its full potential. Her light brown hair cascaded like a waterfall over her face and she shook it off onto her shoulders in a child-like manner as her scarf swung back and forth like some light, fluttery pendulum before it settled back onto her chest when she returned to the balls of her feet.

"You're sure you don't need it?" she asked and stretched out the arm holding the book out to him. "I'm really not that into science. It just...looked interesting."

"Well," Mohinder told her, "it is quite interesting, I'll tell you that. The author has some very controversial ideas about human growth and change."

"Really?" Ivie wondered, and raised her eyebrows as she flipped the book over to read the author's profile on the back cover. "Chandra Suresh," she read aloud, then did a double take at the name. "Wait? Suresh?" she thought for a moment. Her eyes widened at a sudden realization. She hurriedly checked her watch. "I'm late!" she exclaimed and looked back up at Mohinder. "Look, it was really nice talking to you, but I'm actually supposed to meet with a Doctor Suresh right now, so I really have to be going." She turned to leave.

Mohinder watched her retreating figure as he thought and all the ideas eventually connected in his mind. He called out to her.

"Ivie Gesenetti?"

She spun around, surprised. "How did you-"

He smiled back at her and stuck out his hand. "I'm not sure I introduced myself. I'm Dr. Mohinder Suresh."

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Disclaimer: I don't own _Heroes, _but I do own Ivie.  
Author's Note: Read my _Coming _Home one-shot, please.  
Thanks to: MysticalSpirits, aka Kristen, for breaking up my Joseph Conrad-style paragraphs!


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